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What does a coin “in hand” look like?
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<p>[QUOTE="The Eidolon, post: 4608777, member: 102103"]Does in hand need to mean a still image? I always imagined in hand to refer to </p><p>holding something and seeing it live.</p><p><br /></p><p>If so, there is a fundamental difference between seeing a still image, however good, </p><p>and seeing something live. Imagine looking at something behind a picket fence.</p><p>With two eyes open, it is very easy to focus on an object in the background without</p><p>any interference from the slats in the foreground. Close either eye and the slats</p><p>get in the way and block half of what we are seeing.</p><p><br /></p><p>Our eyes are very good at combining images to ignore any distractions, out-of-focus</p><p>areas, reflections, and so on, while processing what we see over a brief interval of</p><p>time. A still image can't do that. So I would argue that there's nothing </p><p>fundamentally better about a photo of a coin in hand compared to a well-set-up</p><p>photo against a flat surface. But there is an aspect of seeing a coin live which a </p><p>photo can't compete with, even though a camera has other advantages in terms of </p><p>resolution and focal distance.</p><p><br /></p><p>One trick I learned of is taking a photo of a coin at many different focal planes and </p><p>combining them in software to get better depth of field than would be possible with </p><p>a single image. Here's an example (photo taken by a friend, coin mine):</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1141499[/ATTACH]</p><p>This simulates part of the experience of seeing a coin live, as our eyes can flit over</p><p>various details without being aware that not every part of the coin is in perfect focus</p><p>in the center of our visual field at any one moment.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="The Eidolon, post: 4608777, member: 102103"]Does in hand need to mean a still image? I always imagined in hand to refer to holding something and seeing it live. If so, there is a fundamental difference between seeing a still image, however good, and seeing something live. Imagine looking at something behind a picket fence. With two eyes open, it is very easy to focus on an object in the background without any interference from the slats in the foreground. Close either eye and the slats get in the way and block half of what we are seeing. Our eyes are very good at combining images to ignore any distractions, out-of-focus areas, reflections, and so on, while processing what we see over a brief interval of time. A still image can't do that. So I would argue that there's nothing fundamentally better about a photo of a coin in hand compared to a well-set-up photo against a flat surface. But there is an aspect of seeing a coin live which a photo can't compete with, even though a camera has other advantages in terms of resolution and focal distance. One trick I learned of is taking a photo of a coin at many different focal planes and combining them in software to get better depth of field than would be possible with a single image. Here's an example (photo taken by a friend, coin mine): [ATTACH=full]1141499[/ATTACH] This simulates part of the experience of seeing a coin live, as our eyes can flit over various details without being aware that not every part of the coin is in perfect focus in the center of our visual field at any one moment.[/QUOTE]
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